Where you stay matters!
A guide to elopements & Airbnb
Even if you plan to say your vows out on the top of a mountain, the place you call home during your elopement stay is an incredibly important piece of the puzzle – one that we’ve unfortunately seen a lot of couples treat as an afterthought in our years as working as elopement photographers. I honestly don’t know if we’ve ever worked with someone who slept in their own bed the morning of their elopement – even our local Colorado couples are usually renting a cabin up in the mountains!
Not only is that sweet little cabin the container for your whole elopement journey, it can serve as a valuable back up plan in case of extreme weather or waking up feeling sick on your wedding day. And if everything goes perfectly according to plan, you’ll have a nice spot to return to for anniversary trips! In some cases, we’ve had couples find their perfect cabin first – and then plan the rest of their wedding day around their home away from home.
So before we get into all of our thoughts on booking your elopement stay – let’s just clarify that ‘airbnb’ has really become shorthand for ‘vacation rental’ and there are so many creative alternatives to explore outside of the Airbnb platform!
Are you allowed to elope at an Airbnb?
Tips for getting your Airbnb wedding plans approved by your host:
Let your host know the plan. We NEVER recommend just trying to sneak one by the property owner! You should always run your plans by them if you’re planning to involve their property in any way – including something as simple as having a hair & makeup artist come over, or inviting your photographers to photograph your first look on the property. They may ask for an insurance certification from your vendors to limit their liability, or they may simply not want any unregistered guests on the property. It’s better to find this out ahead of time rather than risk getting into hot water mid-event.
Be clear about what aspects of the day will take place on the property. If you just ask – “Hey can we get married at your place?” the host may immediately jump to conclusions based on what they think a wedding has to be like. So explain to your host who will be on their property, why they’ll be there, and what the impact of the event will be.
Are you just taking “getting ready photos”, or are you planning to have the whole ceremony on site? Are you bringing in decor or music? Are you just two people quietly exchanging your vows under the beautiful willow tree down by the water? Do you have a private chef coming by to start cooking while you’re gone? We’ve had our couples provide example photos to the host before so they can visualize the kind of simple events we specialize in. Feel free to send them this guide!
Ask about using the rental as a backup option. You may not plan to use your airbnb for anything related to your elopement, but if you’re eloping somewhere where weather may be a concern you may want to float the idea by them! All of the above applies, just let your host know it’s a worst case scenario so we don’t have to rush to contact them!
Alternatives to Airbnb
VRBO
Despite their extremely cute commercials, VRBO (pronounced ‘verbo’ now I think?) doesn’t have quite as much brand recognition as Airbnb yet, but don’t count them out! Unlike Airbnb, VRBO does let you search for listings that allow events. Sometimes you may find unique listings that don’t appear on Airbnb, or you could compare the same property across both platforms to see if there is a difference in price – and there often is!
Hipcamp
This is such a cool company – you can rent campsites, backcountry huts, yurts, airstreams, RVs and other creative spaces on this platform. If you’re not into the idea of camping for your wedding you can filter for cabins or ‘glamping’ lodging only! We’ve personally had a lot of luck finding great places to park a rental camper while we’re traveling using Hipcamp, and I’ve found that a lot of hosts have been open to the idea of having simple elopements on their campsites. It could be a great option if you need a place for a large group to gather for a ceremony or picnic reception too!
Hotels.com, Booking.com & other hotel sites
I’m not sure every one knows this – most hotel booking platforms do have standalone cabins, houses, b&bs and other hotel alternatives! If you already have one you love, just take a look through and see what kind of filters they have to offer. Pro-tip: even if they don’t have any kind of ‘cabin’ or ‘standalone property’ filter, try clicking all the options that normally come with a house, like kitchen, parking, laundry, etc.
Do you have to book a standalone cabin or house for an elopement?
Not at all. You always have the option to stay wherever works for you first of all. We don’t want to suggest that your elopement isn’t worth doing if you can’t find a beautiful place to stay near your elopement location, or if the budget can’t support it! But if you don have the budget and options, here’s why you may want to choose something like a cabin over a hotel:
How you spend your morning is an important part of your wedding story! We love heading over to our couple’s cabins in the morning to document the start of their day – before all the wedding stuff come out, it’s just the two of you having coffee, snuggling with your dog and getting excited for everything to come. Of course this can happen in a hotel room, but usually a house is going to be better lit and have more outdoor options.
Even if we don’t crash your breakfast, starting the day with your first look at your cabin solves the slight logistical problem of making it to your ceremony without seeing each other all dressed up. More tips for that here, in our first look guide!
Similar to the first look, if you have a dog staying with you – starting at your cabin can help involve your pup in your wedding day and make sure you get lots of photos with them, without having to spend your day dog wrangling! (Spoken as the parents of a very needy little guy ourselves)
If there’s weather on your elopement day, like heavy rain or a blizzard – having immediate access to the outdoors at a scenic cabin allows us to spend a lot of time staying warm and dry, while waiting for the right moment to bolt outside and romp around for photos.
Along those same lines, we’ve had the occasional couple have something like food poisoning or a broken foot come up right before their elopement – it’s nice to have a built in alternative to whatever hike we original planned!
How much should we budget for our Airbnb or lodging?
Colorado is the kind of place where you can stay in a yurt in Estes Park for $80 a night, or in a ski-out mansion in Aspen for $15,000 a night. And of course, there’s something for every budget in between.
There are so many factors that go into budget – location, proximity to cool stuff, how many people in your party, whether you have a sweet hot tub or other amenities. At a minimum, I would recommend budgeting at the very least about $150 per night for a pretty basic place, and $200-$600 per night for a more lux stay.
When I’m booking on Airbnb for us, I always check the box for “show total price before taxes” so I can get a good idea on the price early on in the process.
Elopement lodging FAQs:
Is a hotel ever a better option than an airbnb or cabin?
Sure! In some towns, like Breckenridge, Snowmass, or Crested Butte, there are tons of ski resorts and condos that are pretty inexpensive in the off season – while the stand alone houses tend to be very big and very fancy. So for finding something within budget, a hotel or condo may be the best fit.
We also love cool boutique hotels like the Surf Chateau in Buena Vista or the Wyman Hotel in Silverton. In a lot of mountain towns in Colorado, some of the cabins are a little too rustic and outdated, where the newer cool hotel might just be a way better fit for you aesthetically.
There’s no right or wrong way to do this!
How far in advance should we book our Airbnb or hotel?
In most cases, as soon as you know where your ceremony is taking place! Once you have that locked down, immediately start looking for your lodging.
If you need a bit of time, don’t panic – just make sure you keep it in mind and definitely don’t leave it to the last minute.
How close to the ceremony location should we stay?
At least within an hour! If you haven’t gotten that far in your planning yet, an hour drive might surprise you – but some times there just isn’t anything closer! If you’re eloping on a trail on public lands, we may have quite a drive into the National Park/Forest/BLM desert, etc before we hit the trailhead. If walking out your door and sitting in the car for a while sounds like a deal breaker to you, let’s work together to find a location with lodging close by.
What happens if we just can’t find anything very close by our dream ceremony location?
Don’t let these questions freak you out! Most of our couples find a great place to stay within 10-30 minutes of their ceremony location. But in the event you just can’t find the right place, or of there’s nothing available – try looking on Outdoorsy or similar sites for a camper rental! It might not be what you were picturing, but a well appointed camper can be a really cozy and super flexible option! Some of them even have full bathrooms, so don’t count it out.
If you don’t like the camper idea or if you’re really pressed for finding a place – let’s chat about changing your location, or possibly your date! If we all have a little flexibility, we’re happy to bump the date a little so you can book your perfect stay.
The next step:
If you’re inspired by these tips and are ready to start turning your ideas into a plan – please reach out!! We’d love to get involved and help y’all with your elopement vision.